Law Blog Q&A: Morgan Lewis’s Michael Clayton

We just got a call back from the real Michael Clayton (pictured, left), the D.C.-based head of the global trademark and copyright practice at Morgan Lewis. “This is George Clooney, er, I mean, Michael Clayton,” he said from his home in Myrtle Beach, where he’s escaping the barrage of calls and emails from friends and colleagues that are now flooding in over his name.

How do you feel about this?

Of all the names for a movie studio to pick for a corporate lawyer, they pick a name of an intellectual property lawyer specializing in trademark uses and the misappropration of other people’s names!?

When did you first hear about the movie?

A film buff alerted me when the movie when was in production and I immediately called their in-house IP counsel, who it turns out is a former colleague. Out of all the names in the world, I asked, why they were using mine? She said that when she was reviewing the movie this had occurred to her. But she said that unfortunately there is virtually no name in the U.S. that is not used by a lawyer.

Hah! Did you threaten her with legal action?

Nah, I said I was willing to take a lot of razzing that will no doubt come from this, but only on two conditions: first, the movie has to be good and second, I have to get invited to the premeire so my wife could meet George Clooney.

Well it looks like the first was met. How about the second?

Unfortunately not, although my former colleague managed to secure two tickets that were held in the name of Michael Clayton for the movie premiere of “Michael Clayton” at the New York premiere at the Ziegfeld, as well as two tickets to the after-party. Sadly, she was confused on the dates and didn’t call me to tell that I had the tickets until the afternoon of the premiere. It was a real tragedy.

So is your wife still holding out for a meeting with Clooney?

That’s her position.

You’re pretty handsome yourself. Does anyone ever tell you that you have movie-star good looks?

Actually, sometimes they do.

Are you angry with George Clooney (pictured, right)?

Well I wonder how he would feel if I made a movie about a movie star named George Clooney and the trailers blared . . “Michael Clayton is George Clooney!”

Clooney plays a fixer at a big corporate law firm. Do you have a fixer at Morgan Lewis?

We do have a terrific white-collar criminal defense practice.

Tell us a bit about your practice.

I started out litigating Lanham Act issues and my practice has evolved over the past decade to buying and selling intellectual property as a part of global corporate transactions. So if there’s a big acquisiton where a substantial part of the value is in the company’s brands, my team is at the core of the transaction helping with valuation helping with IP due diligence, negotiating the provisions pertaining to the sale of IP and then the post-closing transfer of the IP.

Sorry to say, Michael, that doesn’t sound to us like the stuff about which movies are made.

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The Law Blog covers the legal arena’s hot cases, emerging trends and big personalities. It’s brought to you by lead writer Jacob Gershman with contributions from across The Wall Street Journal’s staff. Jacob comes here after more than half a decade covering the bare-knuckle politics of New York State. His inside-the-room reporting left him steeped in legal and regulatory issues that continue to grab headlines.

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